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One of Us: England’s Greatest Rugby Players
£3.30
In 2013, England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster embarked on an ambitious project to turn Twickenham Stadium into England Rugby’s ‘sixteenth man’. Drawing upon the rich heritage created by all those who have worn the red rose since the birth of international rugby, he introduced a series of innovations around the stadium, which has since become the most advanced rugby ground in Europe. Inside the England dressing room, a roll of honour records the names of all those to have worn the shirt. Each player, when selected to represent their country, receives a unique number that indicates their place in a tradition that began on 27 March 1871 at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, when the world’s first international rugby match took place. The current team are seated around the dressing room according to their position. Behind where each player sits is a list of the ten players per position to have represented England, under the title One of Us. This fascinating book explores the process behind these innovations and details the achievements of those deemed to be England’s greatest players.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Amberley Publishing, Illustrated edition (15 Oct. 2015) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 160 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1445651025 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1445651026 |
| Dimensions | 15.6 x 1.78 x 23.5 cm |
by Dark Apostle
The premise is pretty simple. The author takes the fifteen playing positions in the union code and picks ten of England’s greatest in each. There is a short biography of each player selected with some basic stats – appearances, titles won whilst in England colours etc. The book also looks at some of the great England sides to have taken the field since 1871. This in fact is what pleased me most about the book in that it highlighted the great 1892 side that swept all before them, and not just the Grand Slam winning sides of the 1990’s and the World Cup winners of 2003. You also see this in the player selection too as I’ve felt previous histories have glossed over anything pre-Adrian Stoop and Twickenham. On this basis I would recommend this to any fan of England.